Sex offender is arrested

A 35-year-old man who has lived in Baldwin the past five months will be in Douglas County District Court Monday to face charges he had sex with a 15-year-old girl in June, just five months after he was convicted of a charge involving a 9-year-old Eudora girl.

Baldwin Police Chief Mike McKenna said the most recent victim was a girl Mathis recently befriended and that the sexual contact happened June 19 after he convinced her to go with him to a secluded area.

"She didn't know that he was a sex offender," McKenna said.

McKenna said Mathis "took liberties with her against her wishes." The girl reported the alleged contact the next day, and police arrested Mathis on Wednesday night.

I'm always glad to get a known sex offender off the street for many reason," McKenna said. "We don't need people like that in Baldwin."

Mathis has been on the state's sex-offender registry, www.accesskansas.org/kbi/ro.shtml, since February, when he was convicted of attempted aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

That crime, which happened in Eudora in June 2004, involved a 9-year-old victim who was an acquaintance, officials said. Mathis initially was charged with aggravated indecent liberties with a child, but prosecutors let him enter a plea to the "attempted" charge.

The plea dropped Mathis down two levels on the state's sentencing grid, and because he had no serious criminal history, Judge Michael Malone had the choice of giving him a prison sentence or putting him on probation.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors did not oppose probation.

Malone sentenced Mathis to three years' probation, with an underlying sentence of 32 months in prison if he violated probation. He also was ordered to serve 60 days in jail and to enter a sex-offender treatment program.

Mathis remained in the Douglas County jail Thursday. During a first court appearance, Judge Pro Tem Peggy Kittel set his bond at $50,000 and set his next court date for Monday.